Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Kia Vaughn and Ivory Latta each had 15 points and the Washington Mystics secured a spot in the WNBA playoffs with a 69-67 victory over the Indiana Fever at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Tayler Hill chipped in 12 points off the bench to help the Mystics snap a two- game skid and earn their first postseason appearance since 2010. Crystal Langhorne pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds in the narrow win.
Briann January paced Indiana with 16 points, but shot just 6-of-18 from the field. Tamika Catchings added 13 points for the Fever, who had won two straight coming in.
A game where neither team led by more than nine points was tied at 55-55 until Washington's Michelle Snow knocked down a jumper with 8:30 left. Just over a minute later, Hill buried a 3-pointer off an Indiana turnover to increase the lead to five.
The Fever pulled to within 66-65 when January fed Catchings for a layup with eight seconds to go, but Hill sank two critical free throws on the ensuing possession. Shavonte Zellous put back January's missed trey attempt with 1.2 seconds remaining to again make it a one-point game, but the Fever turned the ball over as time ran out after Hill made 1-of-2 foul shots.
Washington owned a slim 40-37 edge at halftime and led by just two, 55-53, entering the fourth quarter.
